Cruz visits NH, pushes end to Obamacare

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is greeted by Augusta Petrone before a Republican fundraiser at her home in Dublin Friday night. (MEGHAN PIERCE/Union Leader Correspondent)

DUBLIN — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz side-stepped a question about any possible plans to run for President when he arrived at a fundraiser to benefit the New Hampshire Republican State Committee Friday night.

“I’m glad to be here with friends here in New Hampshire, and I’ll tell you I’ve been traveling all over the country working to energize the grassroots and to mobilize the American people to rise up and stop Obamacare and defund Obamacare.” he said.

That was his response when asked if he came to New Hampshire with presidential hopes. He said that, in the eight months he has been in the Senate, he has done more than 60 events in his home state of Texas and in 13 other states across the country, spreading his anti-Obamacare message.

“The only way we are going to succeed in defunding Obamacare is if it comes from the American people. It’s not going to come from Washington. It’s got to come from the American people.

“So I am doing everything I can to reach out and carry the message that Obamacare isn’t working. That Obamacare is the number one job killer in this country. And that it’s hurting people who are struggling.

“It’s causing more and more people to lose their jobs. It’s causing more and more people to have their hours forcibly reduced to 29 hours a week. It’s causing more and more people to have their health insurance premiums go up.

“Just this week UPS was forced to send letters to 18,000 employees telling them that they are losing their spousal coverage. Their husbands and wives are going to be dropped from health insurance because of Obamacare.

“President Obama famously said if you like you health care you can keep it and everyday it’s becoming more and more clear that’s not the case. There’s bi-partisan agreement, Obamacare isn’t working. And I think that’s why (the) American people are looking for leadership in Washington to step forward and avoid this train-wreck for the American people.”

Looking toward 2014, Cruz said, he plans to campaign for the open seats and let incumbents make their case to their constituents whether or not they should be reelected. The fundraiser was held at the home of former Ambassador Joseph Petrone and his wife, Augusta.

After Cruz arrived he mingled with the more than 100 guests at the fundraiser. As the main speaker Friday night he said it’s important for House and Senate Republicans to stand their ground and pass a resolution that would fund all federal government operations except Obamacare.

He got several standing ovations during his speech, and when he mentioned potential Republican presidential candidates for 2016, he did not name himself but several people in the audience shouted out his name for inclusion in that list.

Although Cruz is not saying what his future career plans are, his trip to New Hampshire — the first-in-the-nation primary state — brought with it a substantial number of national media, interested in what he has to say.